Antimicrobials are among the most commonly prescribed classes of medications in Neonatal Intensive Care Units; however, its use has been constantly associated with a number of medication errors in clinical practice. In contrast to this situation, there is no common agreement when it comes to determining the right dosing, administration, or handling of antibiotics in this population. In order to help improve the use of antibiotics, decrease the rate of medication errors and optimize clinical results in the newborn, this review aims to provide recommendations to support and guide the correct preparation of some of the most relevant antibiotics used in neonatal wards.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) presents high mortality and postoperative, gastrointestinal and neurodevelopmental morbidity. There is limited information about NEC in Chile.
Aim: To describe the clinical/epidemiological behavior of newborns who underwent NEC.
Antibiotics are the most widely used medications in neonates during their first month of life in neonatal units, mainly due to the high risk they present of acquiring serious infections such as sepsis. Most of these antibiotics are used with extrapolated doses based on the suggestions in the adult population and older children, despite the fact that the pathophysiology in newborns is absolutely different. This leads to a higher risk of more adverse effects occurring, which can lead to greater toxicity and therapeutic failures, among others.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Vancomycin is used for treating coagulase-negative staphylococcus infections in neonates. However, concerns about the appropriate empirical dosing required for optimal efficacy, still remain.
Aim: To assess the relationship between the initial doses of vancomycin used in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) with the possibility of achieving therapeutic target of AUC024h/MIC > 400 µg/h/mL.